Waste disposal is a particularly acute problem when the waste can cause infection, such as medical waste. Hospitals and other generators of medical waste typically employ at least one of three main methods of waste handling: 1) on-site incineration of the waste; 2) on-site steam auto-claving of the waste and later shipment to a landfill; and 3) no on-site processing before turning the waste over to a waste hauler.
Although on-site incineration decontaminates and effectively destroys the waste, the smoke stacks and emissions associated with such incinerators are particularly disfavored by the residents in and around hospital facilities. Moreover, unless such incinerators have sophisticated scrubber systems, they can emit harmful pollutants which can be equally as threatening to the public health as improper dumping of the infectious waste. Although steam auto-claving may be used to disinfect waste before further processing, it is typically an expensive and time-consuming process. In addition, such systems typically are not automated, thus posing hazards to the workers handling the waste, and possibly others.
Simply turning the infectious waste over to a waste hauler is particularly disadvantageous, since a spill or accident at any point in the handling of the waste can pose a serious health hazard to anyone in the vicinity of the spill or accident. It is always desirable to decontaminate the waste prior to handling to avoid any health hazards to anyone coming into contact with such waste.
What has been needed to date is an apparatus and method for decontaminating and disposing of infectious waste, in a manner which is safe for health care workers, waste handlers, and the public at large.